NGOs are helping people smugglers ship migrants to Europe

NGOs are helping people traffickers smuggle migrants into Europe, the chief security advisor to the prime minister has said.

“People smugglers are getting migrants into Europe via the Mediterranean with the help of non-governmental organizations," György Bakondi said.

According to Bakondi, the latest method being employed by people smugglers is that they stop their motorboats on the way to Italy from Libya and then call a non-governmental organization by telephone, which then arrives by boat to save the refugees.

This is a another reason why people should have the right to know exactly how much money organizations that are funded from abroad and which are involved in forming politics receive, he added.

An Italian prosecutor recently said that he has evidence some of the charities saving migrants in the Mediterranean Sea are colluding with people-smugglers.

Carmelo Zuccaro said that phone calls were being made from Libya to rescue vessels.

Italy is the main route for migrants trying to reach Europe. Almost 1,000 people are thought to have drowned in waters between Libya and Italy this year.

"We have evidence that there are direct contacts between certain NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and people traffickers in Libya," Zuccaro is quoted as saying in La Stampa.